Liam Hall (left) drowned off the coast of Sunderland (Picture: North News)

The girlfriend of a teenager who died at sea has spoken of how she tried to save him from drowning.

Liam Hall, 17, died after a rubber dinghy he was sharing with his girlfriend, 18-year-old Courtney Richardson, and two others deflated, and he was swept out to sea off the coast of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear.

Now Courtney has described how she swam directly into the current to try to save her boyfriend, who was pulled away and underwater.

‘I don’t think that we blew the dingy up properly and it started to deflate,’ said Courtney.

‘We started to swim back to shore but Liam just wasn’t strong enough.

‘Both me and his best friend Jack tried to pull him above the current but it started to pull us down as well and we couldn’t get him up.

Liam told Courtney (right) he loved her ‘everyday’, she said (Picture: North News)

‘I keep on seeing his head go under – I think about that non stop.’

Courtney and Liam were with two friends, Jack Henratty, 17, and Natalie Foster, 21. They were all from Sunderland.

Courtney said she will miss ‘everything’ about Liam.

‘He would do anything for anyone and he had a complete heart of gold and he would tell me that he loved me every single day,’ she said.

‘I would advise other young people near the sea to always be with an adult or someone that can help you and always make sure that you are where people can see you – the sea might look calm but underneath it is so so dangerous.’